Armed with the understanding that corporate money has turned the US system of government into an oligarchy, and that the country’s Supreme Court confirmed this scheme through the Citizens United ruling, you shouldn’t be surprised about anything the Sunlight Foundation can add to your thinking—right?

Prepare to have your mind blown.

The Foundation’s research of 200 corporations over a six-year period explains why big money invested in politics is one of the best investments in the land: $4.4 TRILLION in government-supplied benefits were realized from $5.8 billion spent on lobbying and campaign contributions.

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that deal? Each dollar those cats spent to get political favors turned into $760!

After examining 14 million records, including data on campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, federal budget allocations and spending, we found that, on average, for every dollar spent on influencing politics, the nation’s most politically active corporations received $760 from the government. The $4.4 trillion total represents two-thirds of the $6.5 trillion that individual taxpayers paid into the federal treasury.

Sunlight quickly shuts down the professional political party agitators with this:

Welcome to the world of “Fixed Fortunes,” a seemingly closed universe where the most persistent and savvy political players not so mysteriously have the ability to attract federal dollars regardless of who is running Washington.

Here’s one more thing that’s astonishing: the American public hasn’t equated this twisted partnership with corruption…